What’s the point of Starbucks having fair trade coffee if you can’t buy a cup of it?

Starbucks says a lot about supporting small farmers through fair trade. But try buying a cup of brewed fair trade coffee in any American Starbucks and you’re in for some blank looks and a long wait.

Fair trade fights common forms of labor exploitation including human trafficking, child labor, and other abuses. No wonder Starbucks wants to promote the fact that they source coffee from fair trade certified farms. But walk into any Starbucks in the U.S., and it’s likely that you won’t see a fair trade coffee on the menu. Ask for it specifically and you’ll have to wait for a whole new pot to be brewed before you can even get your hands around a cup of it.

Former Starbucks barista Sam Greenblatt has started a petition on Change.org asking Starbucks’ CEO Howard Schultz to live up to Starbucks’ fair trade ideals by making a fair trade option brewed and available to every customer. Sign Sam’s petition to get a brewed fair trade option available to every American Starbucks customer, everyday.

Fair trade is able to improve the lives of small farmers by connecting them directly to consumers — through labeling that tells consumers where products come from and certifies the fairness of the exchange. Without fair trade, many coffee farmers can only sell their harvests for less than the costs of production, forcing them into a cycle of poverty and debt.

Thanks to the enduring efforts of advocates, 100% of Starbucks’ brewed espresso sold in Europe is Fairtrade Certified. This means every cappuccino, pumpkin spice latte and caramel machiatto is ethically sourced as well as delicious.

It’s time for Starbucks to not just talk the fair trade talk, but walk the walk by making fair trade coffee options easily available in their U.S. stores. Sign Sam’s petition to get a brewed Fair Trade Coffee option available in every American Starbucks, everyday:

http://www.change.org/petitions/ceo-howard-shultz-offer-brewed-fair-trade-coffee-daily-in-us-stores

Thanks for being a change-maker,

Amanda and the Change.org team

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Don’t let auto dealers sell us a lemon

10/18/2011 Nativegrl77

Contact Your State’s NADA Director
Urge auto dealers to support new fuel efficiency standards that will clean up our cars, cut America’s oil dependence, reduce global warming emissions, and create new jobs.

This summer, we celebrated a major milestone in the fight to curb global warming and end U.S. dependence on oil when President Obama announced a historic agreement to reduce vehicle emissions and raise fuel efficiency standards to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.

These clean car standards will save people money at the gas pump, clean up our air, and create jobs and are supported by environmental, national security, consumer advocacy groups, as well as the United Auto Workers and major automobile manufacturers.

Unfortunately, the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) is trying to stop this plan from taking effect. The Obama administration is currently ironing out the final details of the clean car standards, but NADA members have already descended on Washington, DC, to try to keep consumers and the American economy from reaping the benefits of these new standards.

And this isn’t the first time they’ve been a speed bump on the road to cleaner cars. NADA loudly opposed the clean car standards finalized in April of 2010—but auto dealers across the country are now selling vehicles that comply with these standards, and contrary to NADA’s dire predictions, dealers reported record profits and increased employment last year, with further gains expected in 2011.

Would you buy a tired, used argument from these folks? The auto dealers need to hear from you that their behavior is unacceptable.

Tell your state’s NADA director to create jobs, reduce global warming emissions, and cut America’s oil dependence by supporting the new clean car standards.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Irvin
Program and Outreach Associate
UCS Clean Vehicles Program

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

1 Million … Barack Obama

10/17/2011 Nativegrl77

Our campaign is about to hit 1 million grassroots donors.

I wanted to write to you because this is something that only happens once.

No matter what our opponents do — and however many people end up becoming a part of this campaign — this first million will always be the group that put this movement in the best position possible for the fights ahead.

Thank you. And know that while you’re one of the first million to step up, you represent millions more across the country who are counting on us.

But we can’t do this alone. We’ve always relied on each other, not Washington lobbyists or corporate interests, to build this campaign. That’s why I’m asking you to inspire someone to make their first donation today by promising to match it.

WWW.BARACKOBAMA.Com

Make a donation to match a first-time donor, and help put us over 1 million today:

Thanks,

Barack

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Green Inc.

10/17/2011 Nativegrl77

First posted 11/15/2009

By TODD WOODY nyt

for complete articles go to: www.greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com

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Dow Chemical has unveiled a new solar shingle that can be nailed to a roof like its asphalt predecessor — but which generates electricity. Test marketing is to begin in 2010.Dow designed the shingles, which will initially be manufactured at the company’s Midland, Mich., facility. Global Solar of Tucson, Ariz., is supplying the thin-film solar cells.

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A Santa Monica, Calif., company called SolarReserve has taken a step toward making that a reality, filing an application with California regulators to build a 150-megawatt solar farm that will store seven hours’ worth of the sun’s energy in the form of molten salt.

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The Rice Solar Energy Project, to be built in the Sonoran Desert east of Palm Springs, will “generate steady and uninterrupted power during hours of peak electricity demand,” according to SolarReserve’s license application.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Tell Them What They Did Was Wrong …Judy Waxman, National Women’s Law Center

10/17/2011 Nativegrl77

Speaker Boehner and his allies in the House of Representatives acted shamefully: they passed H.R. 358, a dangerous bill that would undermine women’s health and even put women’s lives at risk. As we told you earlier this week, H.R. 358 is so extreme that some women facing pregnancy complications could die as a result.

The bill is not expected to pass the Senate, and President Obama has promised to veto it even if it does, but this vote was more than symbolic — these provisions are likely to surface again, either as standalone legislation or as amendments to other bills.

Put your Member of Congress on notice. Find out how she or he voted, and let’s express our thanks to those champions who stood up for women’s health and make clear our disappointment with the others.

WWW.NWLC.ORG

It’s obvious that Americans want Congress to work on creating jobs and helping our ailing economy, yet Speaker Boehner and his supporter STILL focus their energies on attacking women’s health. H.R. 358 would:Prevent purchase of health insurance in the new Exchanges that includes abortion care, meaning that millions of women would either be prevented from purchasing insurance plans that cover abortion or would lose the coverage they currently have.
Allow hospitals to refuse to perform emergency abortions, letting them deny emergency abortions to women whose life or health could be saved by the procedure.
Take away existing health insurance coverage, opening an enormous loophole in the new health care law that would allow states to broaden refusal laws so that insurance companies in their state could deny women the access to contraception without co-pays that we secured, with your help, over the summer!
Please thank the leaders who stood against this dangerous piece of legislation, and put the others on notice that we’re watching in case these provisions surface again. With your help, we’ll make sure that H.R. 358’s shameful assault on women’s health does NOT become the law of the land.

Thank you for everything you do to protect women’s access to reproductive health care.

Sincerely,

Judy Waxman
Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights
National Women’s Law Center

P.S. Your support allows us to continue our work for women and their families. Support our work today!